Commandos 2: Men of Courage

About

"Commandos 2: Men of Courage" is a warfare shooter game that offers both single-player and multiplayer modes, including co-op. Players lead an elite group of soldiers, utilizing each one's unique abilities to complete dangerous missions in various realistic and detailed environments, from the heart of the Third Reich to the South Pacific, with the ultimate goal of changing the course of the war. This immersive and realistic strategy gaming experience creates a new standard for the genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,062 reviews

story34 positive mentions

stability13 negative mentions

Commandos 2: Men of Courage is a timeless classic that offers a unique blend of strategy and stealth gameplay, allowing players to approach missions in multiple ways.
The game features beautiful artwork, immersive environments, and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
It provides a challenging yet rewarding gameplay experience, requiring players to think critically and plan their moves carefully.

The game is plagued with bugs and crashes, particularly on modern operating systems, making it frustrating to play.
The controls can be clunky and unintuitive, with a steep learning curve that may deter new players.
There is a lack of proper tutorials or guidance, leaving players to figure out mechanics and objectives on their own.

story
206 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
82%
1%
The story of the game revolves around a squad of elite commandos tasked with thwarting Axis forces during World War II, featuring a variety of missions that range from stealthy infiltrations to direct confrontations. Players appreciate the engaging narrative and the diverse mission designs, which allow for multiple strategies and approaches, enhancing replayability. While the game offers a total of 22 missions, including training and bonus levels, some players express a desire for more content and have noted technical issues that can disrupt gameplay.
- “The story and the missions are very engrossing.”
- “The characters, the WWII environment, the missions, and the music all make this game timeless.”
- “The missions bring with them an exceptional variety too.”
- “The one negative thing I have to say about this game is that it simply has a limited amount of missions.”
- “I installed it three times but always got bored after the first mission.”
- “In some missions, the objectives are borderline invisible, so you may have killed all the enemies on the map, but if you can’t find the one specific NPC, you will never leave the map.”
gameplay
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
57%
5%
The gameplay has been praised for its blend of improved mechanics from previous titles, offering a satisfying mix of stealth and tactical planning that allows players to approach missions creatively. While some users noted issues with outdated controls and a lack of clear tutorials, many found the gameplay engaging and rewarding, with diverse character abilities and well-designed levels contributing to a rich tactical experience. Overall, the game is considered a significant improvement over its predecessors, providing a challenging yet enjoyable experience for fans of the genre.
- “Most of the games that have stealth feel like stealth was only implemented to the game and the gameplay was based on the guns-blazing approach. This masterpiece is different, where stealth and planning can be the difference between fighting the soldiers that infest the streets of Paris to almost killing no one.”
- “Brilliant challenging gameplay tactics, with so many ways to approach a level using different character abilities and interactive variety overall.”
- “The gameplay is great once you learn it; the locations are beautiful, and you will have a great time either killing all the enemies one by one or trying to speedrun it.”
- “You practically beat the game after adapting to the mechanics and AI behavior.”
- “Absolutely no explanation how gameplay is supposed to work in the 'tutorial'.”
- “The problem with the game lies with its mechanics, the exploits more precisely.”
graphics
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
51%
15%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful artwork, attention to detail, and atmospheric environments that still hold up well despite being dated. While some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and immersive visuals, others criticize the low resolution and occasional rendering issues, particularly in the HD remaster. Overall, the graphics are seen as a strong point for the game, especially considering its age, but they may not satisfy players seeking modern high-definition visuals.
- “The graphics are just beautiful; I often stopped playing just to admire the beautifully crafted levels.”
- “The details in the graphics, the incredible scope of most of the maps, and the attention to detail are impressive.”
- “Despite all of its technical and stability issues, the original Commandos 2 still has its charm with gorgeous pre-rendered graphics.”
- “Despite releasing late 2002, the graphics still hold up today with some slight model rendering issues, likely due to how zoomed out the game is coupled with the use of photo-realistic textures and low-poly character models.”
- “Graphics are bad, very bad.”
- “So many bugs, poor graphics, and poor animations.”
music
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
43%
5%
The music in the game, composed by Mateo Pascual, has received widespread acclaim for its prominence and quality, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. Players appreciate the dynamic soundtrack that adapts to different environments and missions, with many considering it one of the best video game soundtracks ever created. While some critiques mention occasional blandness, the majority highlight the music's ability to evoke nostalgia and elevate the game's atmosphere.
- “The soundtrack, still composed by the very talented Mateo Pascual, is even better and much more prominent in the game, as the missions themselves now have music playing in the background and it even changes whenever you're indoors or outdoors.”
- “The music and the missions will take root in your mind and heart and stay there, where they belong.”
- “The level variety, and enemy variety are amazing, with tactics unlimited, as well the music is sublime, unique to each level, and keeps the tone and gravity of the high stakes game of warfightering.”
- “Additionally, the music is... to call it stale is an overstatement...”
- “I can't do anything in the tutorial except listen to terrible music on loop.”
- “Annoying music and voices.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
93%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes, particularly in the Steam version. Many players experience issues such as freezing, flickering views, and unresponsive elements, which are reminiscent of the original game's problems. Despite some positive remarks about quick loading times, the overall consensus is that the game is a "buggy mess" that has not received adequate support or updates from developers.
- “It might be an old rig, but it runs great when not burdened with junk.”
- “Technically, the game still has all those glitchy main menu transitions (seizure warning for glitchy resolution changes and slow down, it's like the main menu is made by an entirely separate developing tool, like the main menu is made by Blender and the game by Unity) just like the original games. As far as my memory helps, it has original glitches of the games such as enemy soldiers getting stuck in chairs and becoming unselectable.”
- “It's a buggy mess and it has been completely abandoned by the devs. As I'm writing this, the last patch was more than a year ago.”
- “And worst of all, this version on Steam is buggy as hell; the view flickers from time to time, often leading to a complete freeze.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
8%
25%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, enhanced by beautiful artwork, a compelling soundtrack, and attention to detail. Players appreciate the variety of settings and missions, which contribute to a sense of achievement and strategic depth. Overall, the atmosphere is described as iconic, addictive, and superior to many contemporary titles in the genre.
- “This is a sandbox game, iconic, funny, with great atmosphere and beautiful artwork.”
- “I had exciting emotions from its atmosphere.”
- “The attention to detail, the music, the atmosphere, the characters, the enemy, the mission.”
- “Although I'm German, I do play games in English since German translations often lack the atmosphere.”
- “Even in this day, it is superior to every other title in this genre (including the recent Shadow Tactics) in terms of graphics, detail, atmosphere, tactics, and replayability despite its outdated engine.”
- “The attention to detail, the music, the atmosphere, the characters, the enemies, the missions.”
replayability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
33%
25%
The game boasts high replayability due to its flexible play styles, numerous ways to approach missions, and the inclusion of bonus challenges that encourage thorough exploration. Players appreciate the variety in gameplay and the ability to tackle missions in multiple ways, making it a rewarding experience that invites repeated playthroughs. Overall, it is regarded as one of the best in its genre for its replay value.
- “Very rarely will this game limit you to a certain play style, which makes it very replayable as well.”
- “The missions are completely replayable too... it's completely up to you how you go about each and every mission... steal a tank or car and do whatever... it is completely awesome!”
- “If I were to point out any issues with the game, it would be its replayability.”
- “It's challenging and rewarding, and there are many ways to solve the missions, adding to the replay value.”
- “The missions are completely replayable too... not like the first Commandos where there was pretty much only one way to go about things like a puzzle piece... you can do things in any order you want... it's completely up to you how you go about each and every mission... steal a tank or car and do whatever... it is completely awesome!”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while it runs smoothly on some systems, it struggles on newer machines and may require lower resolutions and settings for optimal performance. Players who are patient and willing to navigate optimization issues can still enjoy the game, which offers a reliable experience without major technical problems.
- “Technically, the game runs smoothly and reliably, with no bad surprises and no annoying scripting.”
- “So far, it does not cause any performance problems.”
- “It is not optimized for newer machines.”
- “Had to run that on 1024x768 with no HD textures and optimization.”
- “If you have patience and are willing to think your way through problems (both strategically in the game and issues with optimization), then this is an absolute gem of a game.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly criticizing the repetitive tasks and poorly designed tutorials. However, they appreciate the map design and artistic elements, suggesting that while the gameplay can be laborious, the visual experience is a highlight.
- “It's very grindy and tedious, but the map design and the painting are awesome.”
- “Don't even bother killing 50 soldiers one by one in a tedious way.”
- “The first level is a tedious stealth level, and the tutorials are horrible.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as iconic and funny, contributing to its engaging atmosphere and complemented by beautiful artwork.
- “This is a sandbox game, iconic and funny, with a great atmosphere and beautiful artwork.”